Paramour
by Teulere
Summary: We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. .:Sakura x Neji:.
1. Beginnings

**Paramour**

Chapter I- Beginnings

Sakura rushed through the hospital doors and was met by Shizune and a couple of nurses. Despite their efforts to conceal their panic, Sakura could feel their nervous energy, and tried not to let it get to her. But she was feeling the pressure as well, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Tsunade was at a Hokage delegation, and while she was gone, Sakura was on call at all hours to deal with any emergency cases.

"What are the injuries?" Sakura asked Shizune while acting professional despite the slight flutter she felt in her stomach. She always got a little nervous when there were emergency cases like this one, mostly because she was afraid of the reality that it could be someone she knew that needed her help. She had yet to be put in a situation where she would have to battle to save the life of one of her friends or family.

Shizune looked down at her clipboard as she rushed to the emergency room with Sakura. "Male, 21 years of age, was brought in at the brink of death. Has numerous fractures, with severe internal bleeding and organ failure."

Sakura listened carefully to the debriefing, mentally preparing herself for the possibility that this patient might not make it out of this hospital alive. She pushed through the emergency room doors, and immediately looked over at the patient. Her breathing stopped for just a second before she composed herself again and took in the scene laid before her. On the bed lay Hyuuga Neji; ANBU captain and Hyuuga genius. She couldn't imagine what he had been through to put him in this condition- bloody, broken, and barely alive. She soon realized that one of her greatest fears had materialized right in front of her eyes. Here was someone she knew, whose life depended on her.

She rushed to his side and placed her hands on his chest. Her healing chakra glowed green around her hands as it made its way into Neji's body. She closed her eyes and blocked out the sound of the heart monitors and the voices of the medics around her, concentrating on her task. She would most likely be here all night healing Neji's injuries, and she would have to pace herself in terms of the amount of chakra she used throughout the healing procedures.

She opened her eyes for a few moments to look over at his face. He had changed quite a bit since they had been kids, but he was still the same old Neji. His face now resembled that of a man, and she could picture the pearl-white eyes of the Hyuuga behind his closed eyelids. Her eyes couldn't stray away from his forehead, where the cursed seal mark was exposed. She had never seen it this close up before, and for the first time she noticed the small and elegant details she hadn't noticed before. Elegant, yet deadly at the same time. Her eyes returned to inspect the injuries on the rest of Neji's body, while her chakra healed him from the inside. She glanced at his face one last time, and realized that if he died here tonight, she would regret not ever making an effort to get to know him.

* * *

Sakura slowly opened her emerald eyes, and she blinked a couple of times before taking in her surroundings. The white and sterile environment of a hospital room greeted her, along with the mellow beeping of the heart monitor. She ran a hand through her hair, remembering the rough night she had had. Neji's injuries had been very bad, and even Sakura's chakra hadn't been enough to heal all of his injuries. She switched off with a couple of other experienced medics and they took turns healing him and keeping his body stable. Luckily, Tsunade had come early in the morning, and upon seeing one of her favorite ANBU in the emergency room, she rushed in and used what was left of her chakra to help heal him. After Neji was considered stable, they moved him to another room where they would wait for him to wake up. Sakura would stay nearby to make sure no complications arose.

Sakura realized that she must have fallen asleep sometime after being left alone in the room with her patient. She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was almost seven p.m. and that she had slept through most of the day. She was sitting in a chair beside Neji's bed, and had fallen asleep with her head rested on the bed. She looked over at Neji, who was still sleeping, although somewhat more peacefully. A smile graced her lips. She was glad he was okay and no longer in pain. Most of his injuries were completely healed; he just had a couple of minor scars that she would heal later.

She got up and stretched her sore body from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. She noticed a clipboard on the nightstand beside the hospital bed, a small stack of papers clipped to it. She would have a lot of paperwork to do tonight.

Someone knocked softly at the door, but Sakura could already tell by the chakra signature that it was her Hokage.

Sakura turned to face the closed door. "Come in, Tsunade-sama."

In walked her teacher and parental figure, looking more worn out than usual. "Good, you're finally awake," she said with a tired smile. "I have another medic that can take over your shift. You need to get some rest."

"You don't look too good yourself," Sakura laughed lightly, trying to keep her voice down so as not to wake Neji.

"Nothing a bottle of sake can't fix!" Apparently, Tsunade didn't care about the volume of her voice.

"What was that?" Shizune came in through the open door, eyeing her Hokage pointedly while balancing a stack of papers in her hands.

"Nothing," Tsunade waved it off, and turned her attention back to Sakura. "You should go home. You spend way too much time in this hospital as it is."

Sakura smiled, appreciating her teacher's concern for her. "I don't mind spending time here." She looked over at some papers that Shizune handed to her. "I have to fill these out, too?"

Shizune gave her an apologetic look. "Yeah, sorry."

Sakura went over and took the clipboard as well. "The only part of the job I _don't_ enjoy," she said as she motioned to the papers in her hand.

"You and me both!" Tsunade laughed. "Someday, you'll have an assistant just like me that will do them for you."

Sakura laughed along as Shizune gave Tsunade a sour look but was ignored. Shizune shooed them out of the room. "You'll wake Neji-san up! Get out," she said in a quieter voice.

Sakura threw one last glance at Neji's sleeping form, and left the room. She breathed a sigh of relief. She could finally go home.

But she spoke too soon. As she was exiting the building, she heard her name called. She turned around to see one of the medics run up to her.

"Hyuuga-san has just woken up. Tsunade-sama told me to tell you in case you wanted to ask him some questions regarding his condition."

"Thank you for telling me," Sakura smiled at the young woman and rushed passed her without another word. She found that her heart rate had slightly increased, and she took a few deep breaths to slow it down before re-entering the room she had left only five minutes ago.

She found it the same as she had left it, and she walked over to Neji's side. He slowly opened his eyes after feeling her presence approach him, and Sakura suppressed a gasp when she saw his eyes look up at her. She had seen Hinata's eyes many times, but they lacked the intensity that her older cousin's eyes had.

After being dumbfounded for a couple of seconds, Sakura smiled and sat next to him on the chair. "I'm sure you know what comes next."

"The questions."

She found herself replaying his voice in her head. It sounded smoother than she had expected. "Yes, standard hospital procedure once a patient wakes up. First one. Are you experiencing pain on any part of your body?"

"No."

"When was the last time you ate or drank anything?"

"I am not aware."

"Do you remember how you got injured?"

"Somewhat."

Sakura paused to write some things down. She also silently wondered if he was giving such short answers to be difficult and to get on her nerves, or if it was just the way he was. She made a mental note to ask Tenten about it the next time she saw her.

"Do you have any medical problems we should be aware of?"

"No."

"Any allergies?"

"No."

"Have you had trouble sleeping lately?"

"No."

"Are you sexually active?" Sakura glanced up at him to see his response. To her dismay, he kept a straight face.

"No."

His answer surprised her. He was at least twenty-one, one year older than her (you said he was 22 before). People their age were usually experimenting with that kind of stuff already. But then again, she wasn't sexually active either, so who was she to talk?

"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me that you think might be important for me to know?"

"Not that I can think of."

"That's all the questions I have for now. You can go home tomorrow morning, but we need to monitor you over night." She scribbled down a couple of last notes.

He nodded without saying anything.

After a moment, Sakura added, "I hope you are aware of just how lucky you were to survive those injuries." She looked for a reaction, but got none. "Please be more careful. You might not be as lucky the next time." Still, Neji chose to say nothing. Sakura gathered her papers and stood to leave. "Good night, Hyuuga-san," she said after another moment. "I will see you in the morning." Sakura headed for the door.

"Its just Neji."

Sakura stopped, and turned around, a small smile on her face. "Good night, Neji." And with that, she slipped out of the room and quietly shut the door behind her.

* * *

Fumbling with her keys, Sakura finally fit the correct one into the lock and opened the door to her apartment. She didn't bother turning on any lights on her way to the bathroom. She couldn't wait to take a relaxing hot shower. She ignored her hungry stomach, and adjusted the water before stripping herself of her clothes, and stepping into the bathtub. She put the shower on, and breathed a sigh of relief once again that day as the water came down on her. Her chakra was depleted, and she was still exhausted, yet her mind was plagued by many thoughts.

She couldn't stop thinking about Neji. It had been a bit unnerving to be in his presence, she had to admit. But at the same time, he seemed like a good person. Sakura was convinced that she would have to get to know him, although it would be difficult with his ANBU missions and her work at the hospital. But she would find a way.

Sakura leaned her head back and let the water run over her face. _Oh God, Sakura. What are you getting yourself into?_


	2. Reunions

**Paramour**

Chapter II- Reunions

Sakura walked slowly down the hospital corridors, glancing over her shoulder at the clock. Noon. He should be awake by now. Sakura would be checking on Neji's condition and deciding when he would be fit to be discharged from the hospital.

She reached his room and knocked on the door before opening it. She hadn't failed to notice the slight anticipation that had been building up inside her all morning. She walked inside, and took in her patient's condition. She gave a sigh of relief when she saw that he was in far better shape than he had been the previous night.

"Good afternoon, Neji-san," she said pleasantly, an optimistic smile on her face. Hopefully, they would make some progress today.

He gave her a slight nod, as she had expected.

"So, if you're lucky, you might be able to get out of here today." She glanced over his bandages and saw they were in good condition. "I'm going to check your scars and do some more healing now that my chakra is restored." She wrote some quick things down on the clipboard on his nightstand, and she turned her attention back to him. "Let's start with your left arm."

Neji sat up in the bed and held up his bandaged arm to her, and she slowly began unwrapping it. He seemed the least bit interested in his injuries. Usually, Sakura's patients would be shooting off all kinds of questions about this and that, but he was content to just watch.

Sakura's trained eyes examined his entire arm in seconds, and she saw the smallest details of every scar that marred his muscular arm, and she wondered how he could have gotten such injuries. Some of them were still red, and she ran a finger over the biggest one, reaching from the back of his shoulder to just below his elbow. Neji glanced at her as she moved her finger gently down his arm, and then their eyes met for a second and Sakura pulled her finger away. "That one needs more healing," she said quickly, trying to read her patient's expression while she tried to steady her heart beat.

"Will the scars be permanent?"

Sakura was surprised to hear him finally say something, but she smiled sadly at him. "It's likely." She looked at him again for a reaction, but there was nothing but a curt nod. She had had obstinate patients before, but nothing like this Hyuuga. He was just making this difficult. "You were practically dead when you got here, so it took every doctor and every ounce of chakra this hospital had within its walls to keep your heart beating while I repaired your internal damage. Not much was left for the scars. But I'll try again today and see if I can at least make them less noticeable."

Sakura's green healing chakra pooled around her hands, and she held them to Neji's arm. Her chakra slowly made its way under his skin and she started healing his scars. She noticed that Neji tensed up slightly when he felt her healing chakra.

"Just relax; I can't do this if you're so on edge."

He relaxed without delay, not wanting to seem 'on edge'. There was pleasant silence for a couple of minutes as she continued healing him.

"When can I start training again?"

Ah, yes. The ever popular question amongst the male ninja population. "Why is that one of the first things every shinobi asks me?" Sakura had wondered this for a long time.

She saw a glimpse of a smirk on Neji's face. "It's very important to us."

"Well, it's important to kunoichi, too. But we don't rush into training right when we get out of the hospital."

After a couple more moments, Neji continued. "I suppose it's because they feel weak after being in a hospital." Neji found he was able to talk easily to Sakura. She intrigued him with her gentle manner of asking questions and her ability to smile at every little thing he said. Back when they were Genin and Chuunin, he had heard people call her weak and too kind hearted to be a kunoichi. He wouldn't deny that he had thought the same of her. But now she was one of the best medics in Konoha, second only to the Hokage herself. He respected how hard she must have worked to reach such a position.

"I guess I never looked at it that way before," Sakura shrugged, just glad to have gotten Neji to talk to her and feel comfortable in her presence. "How are Tenten and Lee? I haven't seen them in forever."

"Fine I suppose."

"You haven't talked to them lately either, have you?" Sakura smiled at his reluctance to admit that he hadn't been keeping in touch with his former teammates. "Just don't forget about them. Friends like that are hard to come by."

Neji nodded knowingly.

"Tenten misses you by now, I'm sure. You were one of her closest friends. And so was Lee, but she couldn't talk to Lee about things like she could with you."

This caught Neji by surprise, but he didn't show it. "How do you know?"

Sakura shrugged, seeing right through Neji's façade. "She told me. We use to be neighbors when I first moved out of my parents' house into the apartment next to hers."

She could tell that Neji was inwardly lost and probably confused. Tenten and him had been close, he couldn't deny that. But he never thought that she thought of him as that good of a friend.

"What happened between you two?" Sakura said quietly, not sure if he would want to talk about it with her. Surely something must have happened.

She noticed how he tightened his fist for a quick second before letting it relax, and getting his inner emotions under control.

Sakura ventured a guess. "Your family had problems with her?"

His eyes quickly met hers, and he was astounded at how quickly she had picked up on his feelings and guessed correctly what the problem had been. He composed himself and stared at his scarred arm, feigning interest.

Sakura nodded her head in understanding, and moved her hands to another part of his scarred arm. So he still had problems at home? Even at the age of 22, that family of his just wouldn't leave him alone.

"I'm a pretty good listener if you ever want someone to talk to." She smiled at him reassuringly, although somewhat sadly as well. He looked at her once again and gave her a brief nod, before turning to stare out the window, trying to harness his emotions and memories from resurfacing at such an inappropriate time.

After nearly four hours of healing, Sakura had finally finished. Most of the scars had disappeared completely, but the large one she had been tracing earlier could still be noticed, but not as much.

"Sorry about that last one, I can't heal it any better," she said, slightly disappointed that she couldn't heal it completely. She watched him as he slipped on a clean shirt and was getting ready to leave. She held his medical papers in one hand, and waited to walk out with him. "No training or missions for about four weeks, unless I say it's okay. You'll have to come in once a week so I can check how your internal injuries are healing. And don't try to get out of the checkups by not showing up, because I'll just come find you either way." She flashed him a sly grin. "It's been tried many times, but I can't be avoided."

Neji just nodded, not having said a word since she had mentioned his family and their involvement with Tenten.

They both headed to the door, and she led him to one of the hospital desks where the nurse gave them some papers they needed to sign.

"You're officially discharged," she said as she signed the last letter in her name. "I have no idea what you're going to do for four weeks, but I'm sure you'll figure it out." She looked up at him and gave him a pointed look. "Don't overstrain yourself. I'll have Tsunade-sama send a temporary resignation letter to ANBU to let them know you won't be taking any missions for a while. I'll see you one week from today."

Neji nodded, and was about to say something, but decided not to. Sakura raised an eye brow at him but didn't press the matter.

"Thank you, Haruno-san, for everything."

Sakura smiled at him. "It's Sakura. And you're welcome. I'll see you around?"

Neji nodded, and with that, they parted ways, Neji towards the exit, and Sakura towards another patient.

Konoha's streets were bustling with people at this time of day, and Neji slowly made his way through the masses. He was being drawn to one place, and he knew that he had to go there.

He turned to a side street that was less crowded, and entered a large complex of apartment buildings, all well maintained and with a nice view of the ocean. He had known his way around these apartments so well just a couple of months ago. Now, he found himself struggling to remember which one was the exact one he was looking for.

After reading the name tags at the front entrance, he found the right apartment number and made his way to the very top floor. He hesitated slightly when he approached her door, but went ahead and knocked on the door. He could hear some shuffling inside, and soon the door was thrust open in front of him and Tenten came out, a wide grin on her face.

"I knew you wouldn't forget about me!" She put her arms around his neck and embraced him, expecting to inhale his usual sweet scent, but instead smelling something similar to a hospital. She wrinkled her nose to show her disapproval, and Neji smirked for her, the way he did only for her.

"I have missed you so much, Neji! It's been months! Why would you just leave me hanging like that and not even stop by to say hi once in a while?" Tenten said all this as she grabbed onto his sleeve and dragged him into her apartment, slamming the door shut behind her. "I know we had those issues with your family and all, but really, we can figure something out-"

She stopped when she felt a finger on her mouth telling her to stop talking. She stared at Neji, not knowing what to expect from him. At this point, they were both sitting on the couch, and Neji slowly made his way toward her, his finger still at her mouth.

"No more talking," he whispered to her, bringing his face mere inches from hers. Tenten's heart was pounding faster than it had in months, and she realized just how much she wanted him. She placed her hand on his cheek gently, and slowly brought her face closer to his. But as she neared his lips, he pulled away, and Tenten's hand fell away from his face. She tried to read his expression, but it was blank. He quickly recovered, and put his arms around her, bring her body up against his. Tenten looked up at him once again, confusion written on her face. "Please, let me just hold you," he whispered into her ear. She nodded, and laid her head against his chest, feeling his warmth enclose her.

Neji couldn't tell how long they stayed like that, together in each other's arms. He had forgotten just how much he enjoyed being with her, feeling her body up against his, entwining his fingers in her hair and slowly undoing her buns. They had spent many nights like this together, no words, just feelings. And they had always been able to understand each other at a level that no one else could. Neji felt like she was a part of him, and she always would be. Something inside him screamed and yearned for her, to be able to hold her like this forever. But deep down inside, he knew that no matter how much they loved each other, no matter how much they fought it, fate just wouldn't allow them to be together.


	3. Complications

**Paramour**

Chapter III- Complications

Darkness enveloped the Hyuuga compound. The walkways were illuminated by little lanterns, their flames' shadows dancing across the walls of the main house as Neji slowly made his way to his uncle's quarters. He made sure he appeared calm on the outside, but on the inside he was slightly nervous. His uncle had summoned him, for what, he had absolutely no idea. Neji searched his memories of the past couple of days, trying to figure out if he had done something that could possibly anger his uncle. He found nothing.

As he approached his uncle's door, he took a deep breath, and slowly slid it open. Hiashi's office was dimly lit, his desk scattered with papers. He looked up at his nephew, and nodded toward him, begging him to come forward. As if his legs were moving of their own accord, Neji found himself walking towards Hiashi and he bowed slightly, as if by instinct.

"It's nice to see you, Neji."

Neji brought his head up and looked his uncle in the face, his uncle's cold white eyes meeting his. The exhaustion on his uncle's face was obvious- he wasn't getting any younger, and being the head of the Hyuuga had taken its toll. Neji felt the smallest amount of anger build up inside him. Although Neji grew up hating his uncle, his feelings had begun to change, and his opinion of the withered man sitting in front of him had completely changed as well.

Look at what this family has done to him, Neji thought. They've taken the life right out of him. He's nothing but a walking corpse- no soul, no feelings, no more will power.

"It's nice to see you as well, Hiashi-sama."

There was a short moment of silence, each Hyuuga taking the other one in.

"I appreciate you coming, despite the late hour." Another moment of silence. Neither Hyuuga broke eye contact.

"I haven't spoken with you in a while. I sincerely apologize for the events that transpired some months ago." Hiashi immediately caught the slight movement of his nephew's clenched fists. "And I'm apologizing to you as your uncle, not as the leader of this clan. I truly am sorry."

Neji lowered his eyes, the anger building up inside him. How could he forgive his uncle? Memories started flooding back, memories he had locked away all these months. Neji felt as if he were out of control, a slave to his own emotions. He wanted to get out of that office, away from his uncle's penetrating gaze, as far away as he could from the Hyuuga. Tenten's face came to his mind- his family had hurt not only him, but her as well. She was nobody to them. She had no parents, no prestige, and no name. But they failed to realize that she was the most important person in his life- she had been since they were kids. She was there for him when his family wasn't. But what did his family care? They would never allow their most prized, esteemed, and valued Hyuuga to marry a nobody.

"Neji, there is a reason I summoned you. I realize this isn't the best time, but the elders are pressuring me…"

_The elders? _In that instant, Neji realized what this was all about. He felt the anger start clawing away at him on the inside, like his own personal demon. He looked at his uncle disbelievingly, and slowly shook his head. "Not yet," he whispered. Although he seemed calm, the demon was eating away at his insides.

"I know it's soon, and I know you have yet to get over Tenten. But please, do not make this difficult." There was warning in Hiashi's aged voice. "I need to do what is best for his family- the future of hundreds of Hyuuga rest in my hands. Your Hyuuga blood is the strongest of all, and it needs to be passed on-"

"Perhaps you should have thought of that _before_ condemning me to the life of a branch member!" Neji said snidely. No one spoke to Hiashi in this manner. But Neji's blood was boiling- he would _not _have an arranged marriage. The very thought of such a thing made him irate.

Hearing his nephew's rude tone, Hiashi shot him a warning look. All the nice words from a couple minutes ago were now gone.

"You have managed to control every part of my life until now." Neji clenched and unclenched his fists, trying his best not to get out of line. His icy cold gaze did not leave his uncle's. "How you have done it, I do not know. I have fought against it my whole life. Just when I think I'm free, you're there to remind me of my place." He looked for some fleeting glimpse of emotion within his uncle's cold eyes. There was none. "You've taken _everything_ from me, and yet here I am, _bowing_ before you, ready to _serve_ you!" At this point, Neji's voice had risen to its peak.

Hiashi was silenced. There was nothing that could be said. It would only add to his nephew's growing anger. Neji hadn't spoken of freedom in many years, and now that he was bringing it up, Hiashi felt a pang of guilt build up inside of him.

At that moment, both Hyuuga became aware of a timid presence outside the door, but ignored it completely. Hinata stood outside the door, listening to the angry voice coming from within.

"And now, you want to arrange _my_ marriage, so you can control the rest of my life?" Neji's hands were shaking with all the anger pent up inside of him- the demon wanted out.

Hiashi continued to stay calm, but with an angered look on his face.

Hinata couldn't believe what she was overhearing. She found herself also getting heated. _Neji-nii-san…you deserve better._ Hinata had never felt more ashamed of any of her father's decisions.

Neji's eyes were livid. Hiashi had his own children he should be worrying about, what made him think that he has the right to interfere in Neji's life and his future, and make every decision for him? "You wish I was your son, but I'm _not_," Neji hissed. "And I _never_ will be."

With that, Hiashi shot up from his seat, guilt no longer building up inside him, his anger clouding his judgment. His hands flew together, making a sign that Neji had seen only once in his life. It was the only thing that could strike such fear into his heart. He stopped breathing completely, his body froze in place, and he looked at his uncle in disbelief. He felt his seal start to throb, which he knew in seconds would erupt in unbearable pain.

Sensing Hiashi's intentions, Hinata burst through the doors screaming. "Father! What are you doing?!" She now saw, for the first time, the scene she had been listening to just moments ago from the other side of the door. Her father immediately dropped his hands, surprised that he had almost used the cursed seal on his nephew. Hinata stood at the door in shock. She looked over at Neji, afraid she would find him on the floor, his hands clutching his head, too late to save him from his curse.

But to her surprise, Neji was okay. He blinked a couple times, dazed but standing on his feet. He slowly turned his head to look over at his cousin who had ran into the room, and who was just as stunned as he was. Hinata's gentle eyes were filled with worry, fear, and anger. She wanted to run to her cousin, to hug him, to be sure he was okay. But she couldn't predict how he'd react to her- they had grown close over the past couple of years, but she was still the slightest bit fearful of him. Then Neji realized his cousin was worried about him. For a quick second, his eyes softened as they met hers, and she breathed a sigh of relief, as that was his way of letting her know that everything would be okay.

Neji turned back to his uncle, his eyes hardening once again, now fully processing what had just happened. Neji had never felt more betrayed- he never thought his uncle would threaten him with the one thing that he had grown up fearing the most. Once again, he had been put into his place. Hiashi's gaze met Neji's, knowing he had dealt a huge blow to the relationship with his nephew that he had spent years trying to build up. No words were exchanged between the two Hyuuga. Hiashi wasn't sure why he had suddenly wanted to activate his nephew's seal- he wasn't in any danger, and Neji had done nothing that would have deserved such agony. But Neji's comment had enraged him beyond his own control.

But the best thing Neji could do in this situation was to get himself out of it. Things would only escalate and get worse, and he didn't want to be put in a similar situation. Holding his tongue, and containing his anger, Neji made his way out of Hiashi's office, brushing past his worried cousin, not glancing toward either of them on his way out.

* * *

The warm summer breeze rustled through the trees, the crickets sung their nightly songs, and the moon was large and bright in the indigo sky. Neji had gone to the single peaceful place he knew- a small meadow surrounded by a couple of trees, near the eastern border of Konoha. It was a remote area. City lights and people were scarce there.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, staring off into the distance of trees. He could not stop replaying the events that had transpired earlier. He continued to see the deadly sign his uncle's hands had formed. It was the very one that stared Hizashi in the face many years ago, which within seconds forced him to the floor, screaming in anguish. He had no doubt that if Hinata had not come in at the time she did, the same experience would have befallen him. He had never felt fear like this before, not even when faced with death.

Neji brought his hands under his hair and carefully untied his Konoha headband, letting it fall onto the grass. He then removed the bandages that also helped hide his curse, and they fell away. He traced the lethal pattern on his forehead with his finger, having memorized every intricate detail. He still felt a slight pressure from the seal caused by it almost having to be activated completely.

He tensed as he felt a presence approaching him, still a couple of miles away. He immediately recognized the chakra signature as Hinata's and relaxed. She was no longer the scared, weak, stuttering little girl she had once been. She had finally succeeded in earning his respect, and he watched out for her the way one would a sister. She was the only Hyuuga he felt comfortable around, and the only one that didn't judge him.

Hinata approached him cautiously from behind, knowing he had sensed her presence. He'd been gone for hours, and she was worried about him. She saw his headband and bandages lying in the grass, and was surprised because Neji had never been at ease when his seal wasn't hidden.

Sensing her caution, Neji looked over his shoulder at her, and impassively acknowledged her. "Hinata-sama," he nodded at her, his seal illuminated by the moonlight.

With that one look from her cousin, all of Hinata's unease disappeared, and she made her way over to his side and sat beside him. After a couple of silent moments, she glanced up at him, asking quietly, "How are you, Neji-nii-san?" Her eyes traveled to his forehead, and quickly averted to look at something else.

Of course, Neji noticed the quick movement of her eyes. "Fine, thank you, Hinata-sama." His cousin avoided eye contact with him, and it bothered Neji how her eyes darted around, trying to focus on anything but his forehead.

Neji gently took a hold of Hinata's hand, feeling it tense up despite his light grip. She glanced up at her cousin, not sure what he was about to do. He brought her hand up to his forehead, and started tracing the pattern of the seal with Hinata's delicate finger. Hinata watched her finger be guided across the design with astounded eyes. She had never seen the seal, which graced so many of her family members' foreheads, so up close.

Neji brought his cousin's finger to a stop, and he placed her whole hand across his forehead, across the symbol of the caged bird. Having memorized the design herself, Hinata's eyes finally met those of her cousin's.

"I'm okay, Hinata-sama. I promise you," he assured her, and she nodded slightly in acceptance. His hand left hers, while hers stayed on his forehead for a couple moments longer, and then Hinata gently removed her hand.

Hinata had really gotten a scare that night. Seeing her cousin almost have to endure the activation of his seal had frightened her like nothing else ever had before. A single tear, that she had been trying very hard to hold in, escaped her watery eyes, and slowly slid down her cheek.

Neji, although he didn't show it, was touched by his cousin's worry for him, the cousin he had once hated. "Don't cry for me," he whispered.

Hinata brushed the tear away quickly, and without thinking, brought Neji's tense body into her arms, and buried her head in his shoulder, thanking God that he had spared her cousin.

Neji, although slightly surprised by the sudden embrace, also put his arms around Hinata's small body, bringing her closer to him and gently resting his chin on her head. They stayed that way, two cousins, in the middle of a field on a warm April night. They both knew, from that moment on, that they would always be there for one another.


End file.
